Europe needs sustainable urban development and Copenhagen is paving the way
The world is urbanising and fast. More than 55% of the global population live in towns and cities, according to the United Nations. With another 2.5 billion people likely to move to urban areas...
EU Court rules in favour of Manchego cheese producers
Long considered two of Spain's most beloved cultural treasures, Manchego cheese and the fictional character Don Quixote, have been the subjects of a bitter dispute between Spanish cheese producers and their domestic and foreign rivals over...
Trans-fats in food to be strictly limited in the EU from April 2021
An EU-wide regulation will set a limit of 2 grams of processed trans fats per 100 grams of fat in food, according to the European Commission.
The establishment of the new law aims to protect the health...
Commission warns EU tourists they will need private insurance under no-deal Brexit
The European Commission has warned that tourists coming from or to the UK will need to be covered by a private insurance plan in the event of a no-deal Brexit as state coverage will...
Cross-border access to health files becoming reality for European citizens
The European Commission has published its recommendations for the standardisation of the process for access to citizens' health data across the EU Member States. Access to health data across borders means that is that if a citizen has...
Commission confirms report of unsafe Polish meat being exported within EU
The European Commission on February 1 confirmed a TV report from Poland that showed a Polish beef exporting company killing sick cows and selling the meat for human consumption. During its daily briefing in Brussels, the Commission said a...
Court of Auditors evaluates food safety regulations on chemicals
The European Court of Auditors' report that calls for the EU Commission to make changes to the bloc's food safety regulations to better protect consumers from chemical hazards found that while the food safety model provides...
European Medicines Agency leaves UK for Amsterdam ahead of Brexit
The European Medicines Agency, one of the bloc’s biggest bodies, has become one of the first losses for the UK ahead of Brexit as the agency prepares to leave London for Amsterdam.
“Today, EMA staff lowered...
Romano Prodi: We Need Social Infrastructure
On January 23, after a bilateral meeting at the with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, former Italian Prime Minister and former President of the European Commission Romano Prodi spoke about social infrastructure at the Brussels Press...
EU closer to new rules for generic pharmaceutical exports
New rules that will boost the export of generic medicines and biosimilar products to third countries got the stamp of approval from the EU's 28 ambassadors after they agreed to adopt the European Council's...
Belgian ban on religious animal slaughter angers Jewish and Muslim communities
A controversial decision by the Belgian region of Flanders to ban ritual animal slighter for religious purposes has angered the country's large Jewish and Muslim minorities, both of whom view the move as evidence that the...
Japan’s pharma giant Takeda gets conditional EU approval for Shire takeover
Japan's Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. has been given the green light by the European Commission to continue with the takeover of the UK's biopharmaceutical company Shire Plc, after agreeing to sell an inflammatory bowel disease treatment that...
LIFE heads for over 50% increase to €5.45b
On 20 November, the European Parliament’s ENVI committee will vote on the new LIFE programme Regulation, to approve the continuation of the Programme for the next programming period (2021-2027) and to significantly increase its...
UK and Norway agree on post-Brexit citizens’ right to remain
The UK and Norway have signed a bilateral deal that grants their citizens mutual rights to remain residents of both countries in the event the European Union and the British government are unable to hammer out...
How will Central and Eastern Europe respond to a far more impactful (mobility) transition?
The transition to low emission mobility is key to achieving Europe’s energy and climate objectives and easily the most difficult. Whereas decarbonisation of sectors like agriculture and buildings are relatively straightforward with established financial...
EU-Russia boost consultations on drugs
The European Union and Russia discussed in Brussels on September 19 respective drug policies, the drug situation in Russia and EU Member States, the Mission of Russia to the EU said.
The problem of new...
EU’s Jourova demands release of Ukrainian political prisoner in letter to Russia’s justice minister
Four years after open combat erupted between Ukraine and Russia, the battleground has largely shifted to the murky world of cyber warfare, black ops, and targeted arrests.
Ukrainian filmmaker Oleg Sentsov was arrested in his native Crimea...
Austria joins eHealth cooperation for personalised care
With the signing of the European Declaration on linking genomic databases across borders, Austria is now the 16th EU country to join the European Commission’s effort to better prevent and understanding diseases and allowing for better,...
We Need a Food Revolution
LONDON – In 1984, I gathered the most successful musicians of the time to form a “supergroup” called Band Aid to raise money for famine relief in Ethiopia. The next year, an even larger...
A lasting agreement?
After what seemed to be an endless round of contentious talks that ran into the wee hours of Friday morning, European leaders wrapped up their two-day summit in Brussels with a tentative deal on...
EU measures on emissions, climate and energy could save lives
The European Commission's new Clean Air Outlook report shows that the number of premature deaths due to air pollution in 2030 could be reduced by more than half, if the Member States fully apply the bloc's policies...
EU declares war on single-use plastics
Plastic cotton buds, cutlery, plates, straws, drink stirrers, and sticks for balloons will all have to be made exclusively from more sustainable materials instead, while single-use drinks containers made with plastic will only be allowed on the...
EIB approves EUR 4.3 billion of new support for business, education
European Investment Bank (EIB) has approved EUR 4.3 billion of new support for business, education, energy, health and transport schemes.
Meeting in Luxembourg, the Board of the European Investment Bank approved a total of EUR 4.3 billion...
Austria lights up again: far-right government rolls back smoking ban in pubs and restaurants
The ruling majority of the Austrian parliament repealed a smoking ban on Thursday, allowing smoking in bars and restaurants.
Smoking and, inevitably, passive smoking will go into effect in May 2018; that is an unprecedented...
EU Commission plans new European labour authority
The European Commission plans to set up an EU Labour Office beginning in 2019 to ensure and control the minimum wage and social standards for those that start work in another Member State or who work in...
EU Commissioner Andriukaitis hits out at anti-vaccine supporters ahead of Italian elections
Answering questions during Wednesday’s College readout, the EU Commissioner for Health Vytenis Andriukaitis commented on the possibility of anti-vaccine parties in Italy could win in the country's upcoming elections.
"People must understand, this is a simple...
The curious case of Copper Sulphate
The role of chemicals in agriculture is high on the EU policy agenda these days. A vocal organic lobby claims that outlawing synthetic pesticides is crucial for public health. On the other hand, farmers...
EFSA releases new guidelines for processing applications
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) released a new set of guidelines that will overhaul the approval process for regulated products by making the procedure more transparent.
Applicants will now go through an approval process...
Agreement concluded between the EU and Morocco is invalid because it applies to the...
According to the Advocate General of the EU Court of Justice Melchior Wathelet, the Fisheries Agreement concluded between the EU and Morocco is invalid because it applies to the Western Sahara and its adjacent waters
By...
Russia could leave WTO over EU pork dispute
The deputy president of Russia’s Economic Council, Sergei Kalashnikov, said Moscow could leave the World Trade Organization (WTO) amid a dispute on limiting pork imports from the European Union.
Russia said on Monday it would contest...
European Parliament fails to pass phosphate kebab ban
The European Parliament has marginally defeated plans to ban phosphates, an additive that is considered key in frozen meat for the popular döner kebab.
Requiring an absolute majority +1, meaning a majority of at least...
EU Commission: ‘The EU is not banning kebab’
The Southeastern Mediterranean citizens of the bloc are at unrest, as the culinary version of a hamburger ‘may be about to get skewered’ by Brussels, according to media reports.
This happened as the European Parliament’s Health...
Monsanto lobby secures renewal of license for Roundap
Monsanto’s lobby convinced the European Council to ignore the World Health Organization (WHO) and the European Parliament and renew the license for the weed killer Roundup.
The current license expires December 15.
Of the EU...
EU finally grants last-minute, five-year license to glyphosate
Controversial herbicide glyphosate licensed for five more years in EU, despite France's opposition, according to an EU official.
“Habemus glyphosate” say Brussels as Monday’s appeal committee meeting, maybe the last chance for the bloc to...
EU’s last chance to agree on glyphosate license renewal
Monday may be the EU member states’ last chance to agree on the controversial herbicide’s fate, glyphosate.
27 November is maybe the last chance for the European Commission to persuade the EU member states to extend...
Croatia, Ireland and Malta withdraw from European Medicines Agency Brexit relocation vote
Three out of 19 member states that were candidates to host the European Medicines Agency (EMA) after the Brexit withdrawal leaves 16 member states as candidates for Monday afternoon vote in Brussels.
As the General...
EU Commission maps the sources and level of air pollution in Europe with the...
This year’s Air Quality Index got launched today by the EU Environment Agency (EEA) and the European Commission during the Clean Air Forum that took place on Thursday in Paris, paired with the publication...